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HOME/Healthy Living/5 Things to Know About Myopia (Nearsightedness) in Kids

5 Things to Know About Myopia (Nearsightedness) in Kids

5 Things to Know About Myopia (Nearsightedness) in Kids
May 23, 2019
Kelsey Carriere, OD, FAAO
7 Comments

Myopia, or nearsightedness, is one of the most common vision problems in childhood. In fact, about 9% of kids ages 5-17 are nearsighted. Kids with this condition can usually see things close up, but struggle to see things far away. It is often diagnosed around first or second grade when they struggle to see the board in class.

While a diagnosis of myopia might not sound serious, it’s important to treat it with corrective lenses (glasses or contact lenses) as soon as possible. Many parents are surprised when I explain that not doing so can put kids at risk for serious vision-related conditions later in life. Also, blurry vision can cause kids to struggle in school. It’s commonly thought that wearing corrective lenses will make your child’s eyes worse over time. This is not true! Myopia increases when your eyes grow. Wearing corrective lenses just makes it easier to see!

As an optometrist, it’s not only my role diagnose myopia, but to help families understand what they can do to help slow down the progression of the disease. After all, once kids are myopic, they will be myopic for the rest of their lives. Here are a few more things parents should know about the condition:

5 Things to Know About Myopia (Nearsightedness) in Kids:

1. It’s Growing in Prevalence

While we don’t know the exact reason why, the incidence of myopia has been increasing steadily. According to the National Eye Institute, approximately 42% of Americans ages 12-52 are nearsighted, which has increased from 25% since 1971. Genetics and environmental factors may play a role, however it doesn’t follow a specific pattern, even in the same family. For instance, we know that if both parents are myopic, their child is more likely to be, too. However, if those parents have two children, one can be myopic and one might not be.

2. How It Happens

Myopia most often happens when the eyeball grows too much lengthwise – from front to back. In a person with normal vision, light enters the eye and it focuses directly on the retina, which allows clear vision. In a myopic eye, light focuses in front of the retina and creates blurred vision. This is the reason why myopia never goes away – because there’s no way to make your eyeball shrink!

3. The Risk of Developing Other Eye Diseases

There is a strong association with higher amounts of myopia and the risk of certain eye diseases as your child gets older. This includes diseases like macular degeneration, retinal detachments, glaucoma and cataracts, which can all potentially cause blindness. In fact, once he or she goes beyond -4.00, risk for these conditions goes up about 10 times. So it’s important to take steps to try to prevent his or her eyes from getting worse over time.

4. How to Help Slow the Progression

Here are a few things that you can do at home to help slow the progression of myopia over time:

  • Spend time outside each day. Research has shown that children who spend at least 90 minutes in natural sunlight each day have slower rates of myopia progression. We believe that being outside is helpful because they’re giving their eyes a break by looking at things further away. It also may be the brightness of the natural sunlight that helps, however not the UV light. So please wear hats, sunglasses, and sunscreen!
  • Take regular breaks from close work every 30 minutes. This includes tablets, phones, books, and drawing. It doesn’t have to be an extended break, just long enough to allow your eyes to relax. Look out the window, walk down the hallway, or get up to get some water.
  • Keep a good working distance. Holding things closer to your face causes your eyes to strain and work harder to see. The recommended distance is approximately the same length of your child’s forearm, or the distance from their elbow to knuckles.
  • Utilize good lighting. Make sure your child utilizes good lighting when they’re reading or doing homework. This helps to prevent eye strain.

5. Other Treatment Options Available

There are other treatment options available to help slow the progression of myopia. Research has shown these treatments to be successful, however, the USDA has not approved these treatments specifically for myopia control. These treatments are used for other reasons and have shown no greater risk for using them for myopia management.

  • Soft multifocal (bifocal) contact lenses. These contact lenses bend light in a specific way to help relax kids’ focusing systems. They are 30-50% effective, according to current research.
  • Low dose Atropine eye drops. These drops help relax the focusing system, though the exact mechanism is unknown. They are 30-75% effective, according to current research.
  • Orthokeratology contact lenses. These contacts are worn only at night during sleep and reshape the cornea so that glasses or contacts are not needed during the day. They are 30-100% effective, according to current research.

When To Seek Additional Help

If your child’s prescription is changing faster than you think it should, or if you’re worried about risk factors, bring it up to your child’s doctor. He or she may recommend a referral to a pediatric optometrist who can help you create a treatment and prevention plan.

To learn more about our ophthalmology department at Cincinnati Children’s, please call 513-636-4751 or fill out this online form for more information.

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TAGS:
  • ophthalmology
  • optometry

About the author: Kelsey Carriere, OD, FAAO

Kelsey Carriere, OD, FAAO, is a pediatric optometrist and contact lens provider in the division of Ophthalmology at Cincinnati Children’s. She was born and raised in Florida and has also lived in Boston. She loves all things Disney and dinosaurs. She lives in Cincinnati with her husband, a cat named Tiggy, and a turtle named Melvin.

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Comments

Lucky March 7, 2022 at 2:44 am

Hello, my 5 yrs old son has been recently with myopia (-4.75). We are very worried but we don’t know how bad is the condition. He has been recommended glasses. I would like to know whether constant wear of glasses can actually lead to a point where he won’t require it anymore. Can we be hopeful or he will have to wear glasses the rest of his life?

    Kelsey Carriere, OD, FAAO May 27, 2022 at 7:53 am

    Thank you for your question. Unfortunately myopia is a lifelong condition. Wearing glasses will provide your child with clear vision, but they does not change the underlying structure of the eyeball. Myopia occurs most often due to the length of the eyeball from front to back. The only way to make it go away would be to shrink the eyeball which is not possible. If you are concerned about the level of myopia and want to look into options for slowing the progression, please don’t hesitate to schedule an exam in my clinic! I’d be happy to go through the options with you.

Sarah April 19, 2023 at 1:34 pm

My son is 13 months old. I just got a phone call from his pediatrician that he is near-sighted (-3.32, -3.11) and this is based on a picture they took of his eyes, and sent to a specialist. I was legally blind as a child from astigmatism, however, by the age of 10 I had better than 20/20 and perfect depth perception. I expected my child might be similar, but this young? I have an appointment with an optometrist because I was told to, but I am not really on board with this evaluation. Is this really a reliable way to determine if an infant has myopia?

    Avatar photo
    Rachel Camper April 24, 2023 at 5:08 am

    Hi Sarah,

    We reached out to Dr. Carriere for help with your question and here are her thoughts:

    Thank you for your question! We have many ways of evaluating a child’s vision even if they cannot give us a verbal response as to what they are and are not able to see. If there is a concern for possible nearsightedness in your child, the best thing to do is to get a full comprehensive eye exam by a pediatric optometrist or ophthalmologist. The eye doctor should perform a dilated eye exam and would be able to measure whether the nearsightedness is truly there. If your child is nearsighted, they will need glasses sooner rather than later to make sure their eyes develop normally. If you have any other questions, please feel free to schedule an evaluation with one of our doctors. We would be happy to talk you through it!

Deepa April 22, 2023 at 5:32 pm

My 6 yrs old daughter has just diagnosed myopia -1. 25 and -1. 75 so is it necessary to wear contact lenses for the rest of her life.

Aris Vision CDMX June 20, 2023 at 9:48 pm

Great blog on the effects of childhood myopia. To identify problems early, treat them right away, and minimize dangers, kids must have their eyes checked

healthywz September 1, 2024 at 3:12 pm

This article is such an eye-opener for parents! Myopia in kids seems to be becoming more common, and it’s great to have this kind of information readily available. The way you’ve broken down the key points makes it easy to understand what myopia is, why it’s important to catch early, and what steps we can take to manage it.

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